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Monday, October 24, 2011

Businesses May Want Their Cable TV, Too

It seems that Time Warner Cable, and hopefully other cable companies, have figured out that businesses want more than phone service. With their entry into digital phone, cable companies have been able to compete with the tradition phone companies for business service. And cable has been able to offer more than just a phone line with internet and cable television part of the triple play. So it would have been natural to assume that Time Warner Cable and others have been actively pursuing businesses with the triple play proposition FOR YEARS! Yet this article seems to indicate that this push is only a recent push.

Truth be told, I am not too sure how many businesses want cable TV. In the age of pushing workers farther and getting more hours out of employees, TV, like the internet could be seen as a distraction to work. Yet there is a value to put TVs in conference rooms and waiting areas. But do companies want to show more than basic broadcast? A basic connection may be more than enough for businesses, with little upside to sell up higher digital and premium packages.

"In addition, Time Warner Cable, unlike its telecom rivals, has no mobile phone offering. That could make a difference down the road as competitors bundle smartphone service with the rest of their business package." As mobility takes center stage, cable will have to fight back with its own wireless play. Today, that push has been with WIFI, but a cellular network for mobile is also essential.